New Jersey lawmakers have declared a state of emergency as forecasters warn the East Coast is about to be bombarded with eight inches of snow – placing millions of people under weather warnings. 

The state’s Governor Phil Murphy made the announcement Saturday night ahead of an Arctic Blast which is set to barrel in on Sunday morning and dump one inch of snow per hour over the Garden State. 

Murphy told New Jersey residents to avoid traveling by car unless the journey is essential. The state of emergency kicked in at 8am Sunday.

‘Beginning tomorrow morning, we are expecting a winter storm to bring heavy snow, followed by dangerously low temperatures expected on Monday and continuing through Wednesday,’ Murphy said.

‘As always, I urge all New Jerseyans to use caution, follow all safety protocols, and remain off the roads unless absolutely necessary.’ 

The National Weather Service (NWS) said that much of the Lower 48 should brace for ‘the coldest air-mass of the season to date’ from Sunday through January 24 as a trifecta of storms moves in. 

Temperatures are expected to get as low as 9F (minus 12C) in New Jersey by mid-week, with similar climes predicted in New York, and 5F (minus 15C) expected in the Northeast. 

Meteorologists predict temperatures could plunge up to 45 degrees below average, engulfing at least 20 states across the Plains, the Great Lakes and the Northeast.

New Jersey lawmakers have declared a state of emergency as forecasters warn the East Coast is about to be bombarded with eight inches of snow over several days from Sunday morning

Pictured: People experience snowfall near the Washington Monument during a winter storm in Washington, DC, USA, on January 6, 2025

Meteorologists predict temperatures could plunge up to 45 degrees below average , engulfing at least 20 states across the Plains, the Great Lakes and the Northeast 

The sub-zero climes will likely freeze and burst pipes while significantly straining power grids as people scramble to heat their homes. 

Snow and slippery roads are also set to hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday, with a wintery mix potentially in the Deep South early next week.

All states in the Lower 48, and more than 80 percent of its residents, will see below-freezing temperatures.

The cold weather comes with a trifecta of devastating winter storms which will blanket several states in thick snow while kicking the already-frigid temperatures into overdrive. 

Blisteringly-cold Siberian air is even expected to reach as far south as the country’s Gulf Coast in the coming days. 

The first of the three is set to drop snow and rain over parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Saturday and is likely to impact Indianapolis, Detroit and Cleveland. 

That same mix of snow and rain will then move into the interior Northeast, before another storm looks set to form in the Appalachians, according to CNN. 

The second storm will move over into southern New York and southern New England on Sunday afternoon. 

The first of the three storms is set to drop snow and rain over parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Saturday and is likely to impact Indianapolis, Detroit and Cleveland 

The Arctic Blast will impact dozens of US states over the coming days, meteorologists warn

Snow will fall further inland, with those near the coast to expect heavy rain throughout the day, with 1 to 3 inches of snow to fall from Washington DC to New England and amounts as high as 3 to 6 inches west of I-95. 

Forecasting a potential third storm was ‘tricky’ according to Meteorologist Mary Gilbert, as officials made the call on Friday to have President-elect Trump’s inauguration indoors due to the inclement weather due to a polar vortex. 

Forecasts on inauguration day indicate highs only in the 20s, with whatever snow falling on Sunday expected to stick around.

Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour will blast through the layers of the hundreds of thousands of MAGA enthusiasts expected to fill the national mall on Monday. 

‘This poses a great risk of hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin. Have a cold weather survival kit if traveling,’ the NWS warned. 

‘This would be one of the coldest outbreaks certainly of the past 10 years, 15 years,’ said winter weather expert Judah Cohen of Atmospheric Environmental Research. ‘It’s pulling air out of Siberia. 

‘And, you know, that’s consistent with these stretches because when the polar vortex stretches, the flow starts in Siberia and ends in the US.’

The Rockies, northern Plains, and Upper Midwest should see minimum wind chills of -30 F or colder Saturday into Tuesday, according to the NWS.

Even states along the Gulf Coast and the southern border will see temperatures drop 10 to 30 F below average. Only South Florida will be spared from the bitter cold. 

‘So, if you’re a snowbird, you like to escape down to the South – there’s no escaping this. Everyone will feel it,’ FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said.

The temperatures will also likely freeze and burst pipes and significantly strain power grids as people scramble to heat their homes

All states in the Lower 48, and more than 80 percent of its residents, will see below-freezing temperatures

All told, more than 300 million Americans will experience below-average temperatures by Monday, FOX reported. 

But with the wind chill, some parts of the country could experience feels-like temperatures as low as -50 F by Monday morning.  

Cities that are not accustomed to such low temperatures should prepare for the life-threatening impact of this cold, Merwin said. 

It doesn’t look like temperatures will warm up any time soon, as meteorologists expect the overall weather pattern to remain favorable for more arctic outbreaks through the end of January.